


Wesley Returns to Degrassi

by Adrianpink, eeveepacini



Category: Degrassi
Genre: Adam is alive, Beckdam broke up - possible future Torreno, F/M, Mention of owen harassing anya, Owen is held back, Scenes of verbal/physical bullying, Season 13 AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:35:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28134783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adrianpink/pseuds/Adrianpink, https://archiveofourown.org/users/eeveepacini/pseuds/eeveepacini
Summary: Wesley comes back to Degrassi for senior year. Lonely from his breakup with Hannah and struggling with his parents fighting, he moves back to Toronto to live with his uncle. He reunites with his best friends Connor and Dave, and gets a second chance with Anya.
Relationships: Wesley Betenkamp/Anya MacPherson
Kudos: 13





	1. The Three Tenners

Wesley approached the front steps of Degrassi full of apprehension and nerves. It’s not like he hadn’t been here before, it had just been a long time -- over a year at this point, since he had been to Degrassi. 

His parents had tried to fix their marriage by moving to Vancouver for what they kept calling a ‘fresh start’. It seemed doomed from the beginning, honestly. Wesley’s parents’ marriage had been slowly dissolving through their fingers like sand. Now, his parents were officially separated, living apart and finally not completely miserable. 

There had been so much fighting between his parents on who was going to keep Wesley, as if he were some unwanted puppy that they were trying to pawn off on the other. That made Wesley feel like crap. When Wesley asked if it was possible for him to move back to Toronto to live with his Uncle Mike, his parents immediately obliged. Wesley figured they just had too much on their plate to deal with him, which was understandable, but still… Wesley feeling unwanted wasn’t necessarily something new. 

Wesley’s eyes scanned the hallway -- no more uniforms, he quickly realized. He had worn khaki pants with a plain shirt in order to fit in with the dress code, which had apparently been abolished in his absence. Nice. It was cool to see what everyone wore when they had free reign to express their personal style. Wesley still admittedly found himself missing the simplicity of the Degrassi uniform polos.

His eyes fell on two familiar faces who were goofing off on the other side of the hallway. Wesley quickly sneaked around and placed himself behind the boys -- Dave and Connor -- and startled them when he spoke. “Hey guys,” Wesley grinned as he greeted his old pals. “Remember me?”

Dave raised his eyebrows in shock. “Wes!” He slapped Wesley’s back playfully, still managing to sort of knock the wind out of Wesley. Dave Turner did not know how to be subtle or soft -- that just was not his style.

“Wesley! You’re back!” Connor said with a sigh of relief. He definitely seemed genuinely excited to reunite with Wesley. “I got back from my suspension and you were completely gone without a trace. I thought I’d never see you again.” 

Wesley cringed as he remembered for a moment the reason Connor had been suspended -- stealing girls’ underwear, including their hot teacher Ms. Oh. “You’ve stayed out of trouble in regard to, uh — that aspect, I hope?”

“Don’t worry, I’m never gonna do that again. I learned my lesson,” Connor replied.

“I believe you, man,” Wesley reassured Connor. “You look different! You look cool!” Wesley said with a pang of jealousy hitting his chest. He hadn’t been as blessed by the puberty gods as Connor had. Wesley basically had the same baby face he had in Grade 10, despite his 18th birthday taking place a few months earlier. 

“Right? The Con-Man got like ten inches taller too!” Dave pointed out.

“Now I can reach all the high shelves that your shrimpy butt can’t.” Connor directed his words toward Dave with his trademark deadpan tone. 

Dave rolled his eyes. Wesley knew his reaction was due to the fact that Dave hated people referencing his height. Dave was the perfect example of someone who could dish it but couldn’t take it. “Shut up.” Dave couldn’t help but crack up, though, which caused the whole group to erupt into laughter. “I’m glad you’re back, bro.”

“I really missed you guys,” Wesley tried to mask the fact that he was slightly emotional at this reunion. He had been so caught up in trying to play referee for his parents and adjusting to a new school that he hadn’t had much time to reflect on his old friendships from Degrassi. The nostalgia of early high school was overwhelming. How were they already old enough to graduate this year? 

“We missed you, Wes. How’s Hannah?” Connor questioned. Wesley’s brain quickly and briefly recalled the time that Connor had been caught staring at Hannah’s chest… Hopefully Connor was telling the truth when he said he learned his lesson when it came to girls.

“Oh, I guess you aren’t quite caught up,” Wesley reached to push his slightly slipping glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Hannah and I broke up about six months ago.” 

Dave placed a hand on Wesley’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, bro. How are you holding up?”

“It’s been hard,” Wesley admitted. “I think I’m finally starting to feel better, though. I’m trying to look on the bright side. That’s what my uncle always suggests.”

“That’s great bro! Anyone catch your eye at your new school?” Dave asked.

“Not really, but I wasn’t exactly paying attention, and today I’ve been caught up in first-day jitters. Plus I’d feel like I was betraying Hannah…” Wesley wasn’t sure if that last part was fully logical. Plenty of time had passed and many of his peers moved from relationship to relationship like nothing. Wesley wasn’t like that, though. He didn’t want to just flirt and pick up some random hot chick -- he wanted someone he had a true connection with -- like he did with Hannah. 

“What about Anya? She’s single now and you did have that wet dream about her --” Connor said, missing the social cues that indicated what he said wasn’t appropriate to say. 

“Shhh Connor!” Wesley's face turned bright red. 

Dave stifled a laugh. “Seriously though, she broke up with Owen last year. It was all over Twitter and FaceRange.” 

Wesley felt butterflies begin to rise in his stomach as he thought of his old crush. “Maybe I’ll message her on Facerange, just to say hello...” His crush on Anya had never really disappeared -- he had just pushed it down and to the side since it seemed completely impossible. Anya was practically his dream girl, though. Wesley wondered if he had more of a chance now that he was back in town, older and single. “She’s probably dating that doctor or someone even more impressive…” He began to doubt himself a little.

“Just do it!” Dave and Connor urged excitedly. 

The bell rang and Dave offered one last piece of advice. “You’re finally a big man now. Anya will totally dig you.” 

“I’ll catch you guys later.” Wesley smiled and slung his backpack onto his shoulders. Wesley wasn’t sure about Dave’s remark about him being a ‘big man’. He had definitely grown into his own more than when he was fifteen and nervous about everything, but he still had a ways to go before he felt like a man. Wesley was far from a master when it came to talking to girls, but a good deal of his teenage awkwardness had subsided… For the most part.  
…

Later that night, Wesley took forty-five minutes to craft a simple, nonchalant message to Anya. It read: ‘Hey Anya, it’s me Wesley! How have you been?’

From the public posts on Anya’s FaceRange page Wesley could see that Anya had recently applied to vet school. Last Wesley had heard, Anya was bulking up and joining the military with help from Owen Milligan, Degrassi’s biggest bully. Helping animals seemed way more up Anya MacPherson’s alley.

Anya quickly opened Wesley’s message. She was available. ‘Wesley?! OMG!’ She responded. Following that message, a friend request from Anya popped up in Wesley’s notifications. 

Wesley’s hands shook slightly as the clicker of his mouse hovered over the ‘accept’ button. This was really happening. He knew becoming friends on FaceRange wasn’t exactly going steady, but Anya was already more interested than he had anticipated. Wesley honestly expected his message to go unnoticed for a few days or even a week, buried by messages from all of Anya’s friends and potential suitors. Her inbox had to be overflowing. Yet, she answered Wesley immediately. He had to believe that meant something, even if it made him look like a hopeful dope. 

Anya’s friend request was followed by a few hours of pretty intense back-and-forth messaging. Wesley was surprised he captured Anya’s evening so effortlessly. He would’ve assumed a gorgeous girl like Anya would have a million other things to do and people to chat with on a Tuesday night, but for some reason she was completely available to Wesley until Wesley started falling asleep around midnight. He was never too good at staying up late, especially without caffeine. If he had known Anya was going to give him so much attention he would’ve gotten a jumbo coffee with a side of those nasty-tasting five-hour energy shots.


	2. What'd I miss?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On his second day back at Degrassi, Wesley catches up on what he missed last year.

Wesley walked into Degrassi with a sense of newfound confidence. Years ago he stumbled around all geeky and awkward, now he was the type of guy that Anya MacPherson wanted to catch up with.

He hoped it wasn’t some fluke — Anya had insisted that it wasn’t, and that she would definitely be down to talk again. Definitely. He felt a wave of excitement come over him. That word had never sounded so wonderful. 

Dave’s voice broke through the crowded buzz of the Degrassi hallways. “Yo, Wes!” He called out, interrupting Wesley’s thoughts and catching his attention immediately. 

“What’s good, Dizzle?” Wesley greeted his friend with a reference from their old Three Tenners song. Boy, they were nerdy back then. 

Dave grinned at the reference, dapping Wesley up as they met in the middle of the hallway. “How was talking to your dream girl last night? I saw that you were online way later than usual. It’s weird, though. You didn’t respond to my message, though.” 

“It was just a picture of a kangaroo,” Wesley responded simply, thinking back to the random message that he received from Dave a few minutes before he logged off. “How was I supposed to respond?” 

“I don’t like being left on read!” Dave exclaimed. “Never again, aight Wizzle?” Dave referenced back to Wesley’s short-lived nickname. 

Wesley nodded in agreement. “Understood.” He then remembered the initial question Dave had asked. “About last night…”

Adam Torres walked down the hall and caught Dave’s attention, interrupting Wesley’s sentence. “Radio segment ideas, big D?” 

“He doesn’t really make you call him that, does he?” Wesley asked Adam, cringing slightly at Dave’s nickname. 

“I don’t mind. I think it’s funny.” Adam responded, stepping up to Dave and sizing him up. “The nickname is supposed to be ironic, isn’t it Dave?” He smiled. 

Dave looked slightly embarrassed but played it off. Dave had gotten a little bit better at not taking everything personally, Wesley observed. 

Taking the opportunity to change the subject, Dave prodded Wesley once more. “So, you and Anya?”

Adam raised a brow, looking Wesley up and down. “You and Anya? Like, MacPherson? Friends with Holly J Sinclair and Fiona?” 

Wesley nodded, then felt the need to clarify. “I mean, we’re not dating or anything, or even going on a date… yet.” He stumbled on his words a bit. “We just talked last night. For hours.” 

“What sorts of things does Anya MacPherson talk about after dark?” Dave inquired, returning to his insinuations. 

“We talked about all sorts of things!” Wesley responded cheerily, deciding not to play into Dave’s innuendos. “She’s working at Little Miss Steaks and going to Seneca College. She just applied for veterinarian school! I’m pretty pumped for her.” He allowed himself to gush. 

He was about to tell them how she had an appointment with the disability center for her dyslexia but then he worried that was too confidential. He thought about how cool it is that everyone’s brain works differently. Like Connor’s Asperger’s — though the correct term was actually autistic now, he remembered. 

“Hello? Earth to Wes?” Dave interrupted Wesley’s train of thought. “When did it get sexy?” Dave asked, raising his eyebrows and grinning. Adam elbowed him in the ribs.

“Sexy? It was just an innocent conversation, Dave,” Wesley glared, but then began thinking of Anya in that way for just a moment. The dream he had about her a few years back… How fantastic she looked on their first and only date… He shook those thoughts away for now. “She’s really cool and down to earth. Sweet... Smart, too.” 

“Someone’s in love,” Adam teased. “Good luck, Wes. I gotta get to class, which my ex girlfriend is in! Wish me luck!!” Adam facepalmed. Wesley was surprised to hear Adam had scored a girlfriend. Last time Wesley was around, Adam was struggling pretty hard to fit in. The fact that he had a girlfriend at Degrassi, even if it was now an ex, meant that Adam’s social status must have gotten a little bit higher. 

“You and Becky broke up?” Dave asked.

“Yeah, she was in Florida this summer and I got jealous of this guy she kept hanging out with... Todd,” Adam grimaced, “She felt like I couldn’t trust her anymore, and honestly, at the time I couldn’t. So... we ended things.” Adam looked down as he recalled the breakup. 

“I’m sorry Adam,” Dave patted him on the back.

Wesley didn’t know Adam too well and he didn’t know Becky at all, but he could still relate and commiserate. “I know how you feel, dude. It gets better,” Wesley attempted to reassure him. “I promise. I thought I’d never get over Hannah but here I am!” 

“And you’re over her?” Adam asked. 

Wesley paused for a moment. “I think so…” He wasn’t quite sure. He knew that he didn’t think about Hannah nearly as much, and he was excited at the prospect of a future with Anya… Did that mean he was over it? Was there ever such a thing as truly over it if you truly loved the person? He thought back to his parents for a moment. They were completely separated and seemed over one another — did that mean they never cared? These thoughts were way too much for a simple hallway conversation, so Wesley kept it simple. “I think I’m over her, and if I’m not, I’m at least on my way.” He offered Adam a polite smile. 

“Thanks guys. I’m sure I’ll be okay in time.” Adam smiled before heading to class.

“Catch you later!” Wesley waved at Adam, then turned to Dave. “Who’s Becky?” 

Dave began to explain with a slightly sour face. “She was this uber-Christian girl who appeared out of thin air from Florida and was like, mad homophobic about the play Eli Goldsworthy put on last year.” There was definitely some contempt in Dave’s voice, Wesley noticed.

“What play was it?” Wesley questioned what story could have attracted such hatred from any member of the student body. 

“Well...” Dave started. “It was called Romeo and Jules. It was like Romeo and Juliet, but Juliet was…” 

Wesley caught on. “A guy. Two guys. I guess that’s kind of cool, isn’t it? Definitely modern.” 

“It was aight.” Dave flashed his trademark cocky smile, pointing to a poster that was hanging on the wall in the hallway which had a photo of Dave and a younger, slightly chubby boy caressing one another’s face. “I heard the guy who played Romeo killed it. He even won a talent competition and got a two episode arc on ‘West Drive’.” Dave bragged. 

“I’m assuming you played Romeo,” Wesley said, examining the poster from where he was standing. Seeing his friend’s name and face plastered all over the school was actually pretty cool. “So… lead of the school play, West Drive actor... I guess you’re sort of like, the man around school now?” Wesley was genuinely proud of his friend. Popularity always seemed to be Dave’s main goal, after all. “Are you and Alli still going hot and heavy?”

Dave’s face twisted slightly. “Yeah, I mean, you know…” He sort of laughed it off, changing the subject like there was something he was trying to avoid talking about. “Why don’t you tell me more about your chat session with Anya. I might need to read it to believe.” 

“That’s enough about Anya for now,” Wesley decided. Nobody else needed to know the contents of his messages with Anya, even if things were completely innocent. It felt more special if it was just between Wesley and Anya anyway. “Let’s get to class before the bell rings, Big D.” 

Dave smirked, “Don’t make me tase you again!”

Wesley laughed, “Don’t make me give you another purple nurple!” 

“You better not!” Dave shoved Wesley playfully before they headed off to class. 

...

During class, Wesley couldn’t stop thinking about their conversation with Adam. He felt a sigh of relief that Hannah had transferred to another school last year. Wesley thought it must be painful to see your ex at school day after day right after breaking up. He thought about his own jealousy of Liam, Hannah’s childhood friend who used to have a crush on her. Those feelings were hard to shake and ignore. 

After the breakup, Wesley had to unfollow Hannah’s FaceRange page because every time there was a picture of her and Liam, his mind raced trying to figure out if they had started dating. Wesley still cared about Hannah and hoped to one day be her friend, but he wasn’t quite there yet. 

His mind drifted back to Anya and his heartbeat sped up. She did that to him every time. Wesley wasn’t sure if they were going to be “more than friends” or not, but just being in contact with her again made him happy.

…

As Wesley headed to his locker between class periods, he happened to notice Connor standing outside of a classroom, seemingly waiting for someone to exit. Wesley slowed down his pace a bit, curious who Connor was waiting for. 

Just then, a beautiful bubbly blonde who Wesley identified as Jenna, exited the classroom and immediately wrapped her arms around Connor’s neck, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek. 

Wesley was honestly a bit shocked. Not because Connor didn’t deserve a pretty girlfriend, it just seemed like sort of a...mis-match. Last Wesley knew, Jenna was relatively popular and trying to pursue a music career. Though Wesley was never one for those singing competition shows, he had seen the season that Jenna performed on. Did Jenna still have a baby? Wesley wondered silently, watching as Connor and Jenna hugged one more time before parting ways. After Jenna walked away with her friends, Wesley approached his friend. 

“Jenna, huh? How did that happen?” Wesley smiled. He was definitely a bit confused about how they’d ended up together but overall he was just excited that Connor had his first girlfriend — not counting that creepy older woman from Realm of Doom. 

“Well, first Jenna kissed me on the cheek because Luke was making fun of me after I tripped and dropped my stuff in the middle of the hallway. I overheard him laughing and asking her if she thought anyone would ever care about me.” Connor began to explain. 

Wesley winced. “Who’s Luke?” 

“He’s just one of the biggest jerks at Degrassi,” Connor explained. “Along with all of his hockey buddies. Luke might be the worst of all the jocks. Either him or Owen.”

“Owen is still around?” Wesley felt a sliver of fear and disgust enter his bloodstream. He had never received direct harassment from Owen but he had heard some horror stories. 

Connor nodded. “Hockey jerks pretty much took over the school last year. “They’re just…” Connor seemed to search for the right word for a moment, but came up short. “You were asking about Jenna, not Owen, weren’t you?” 

Wesley shifted his focus back to the initial conversation. There was definitely part of him that was distracted by the idea of the school being terrorized by hockey jocks, but he still truly wanted to hear the rest of Connor’s story. 

“So, I bought her flowers and a teddy bear and asked her on a date. She said she couldn’t at first, so I asked if she was seeing anyone else. She wasn’t, so I asked if she liked hanging out with me when we were in Romeo and Jules.”

Wesley felt a pang of jealousy that he missed out on being a part of the school musical. He could easily picture himself as part of the tech crew.

“I asked if she thinks I’m attractive. I took my glasses off and she said I’m cute with and without glasses.” Connor seemed like he was gushing a bit, which was something he’d never seen or expected from Connor. Connor never came across as much of a romantic in Wesley’s eyes. Wesley was glad his friend had found a girl who made him happy though. “Finally I said, ‘so there’s no reason to say no, is there?’” Connor seemed to be recalling and relaying every moment. “She said ‘I guess not, it’s a date!’ and the rest was history. Pretty recent history, of course.” Connor clarified his euphemism directly after using it. Some things never changed. 

“Man, you’re smooth!” Wesley laughed. “I want to ask Anya out, but I’m not sure how to plan the perfect date.” He admitted. “Our date after the auction didn’t exactly go as planned...” Wesley grimaced at the memory of taking pills to ‘last long’ before his date with Anya. 

“I took Jenna to space on our first date,” Connor said. 

Wesley widened his eyes. “You did what? I don’t really think I can afford that for me and Anya…”

“Not literally,” Connor seemed surprised that he wasn’t the one who needed things explained to him this time. “I set up this simulator with the help of Mr. Simpson and I rented these cool orange space-suits. It was awesome.”

“She loved it?” Wesley asked, wondering just how much it cost to rent space-suits, which was something he’d never thought of or even considered.

Connor grinned, seeming proud of himself and confident. “I asked her if she wanted to kiss and she asked me if it was that obvious.” He blushed slightly. “It was. I’ve never felt like a girl actually wanted to kiss me before — especially one as cool and pretty as Jenna.” 

Wesley went to fist-bump Connor and was met with Connor’s hand spread open, ready for a high-five. They never could quite get the hang of that. They both laughed a bit before Wesley continued. “I think that’s awesome, Connor! I’m so happy for you! Whatever happened to her ex, KC?” 

“Oh, he moved to BC a while back with his mom to protect themselves when his dad got out of prison. Jenna and I have video chatted him a few times.”

“And he’s happy for you guys?” Wesley asked. 

Connor nodded. “Surprisingly, yeah. He was a bit shocked at first, but he and Jenna are ancient history. Now he’s happy for us.” 

“Aww,” Wesley smiled, feeling more hopeful about being friends with Hannah and Liam one day. 

“It also helps that he got a new girlfriend in BC,” Connor added. “She’s hot, well not as hot as Jenna - er to me at least. Attractiveness is subjective,” Connor mentally calculated the line between complimentary and offensive. “She seems great.” Connor finally decided on appropriate words to say. Wesley was proud that Connor had at least partially picked up on what was and wasn’t appropriate to say— at least when it came to women. 

“That’s great!” Wesley smiled. The bell rang, and on his way to class he thought about what Connor said: “attractiveness is subjective.” It made him feel better. Before Hannah, he felt like girls only liked tall, muscular guys. I’ll find someone again, he thought to himself. And even if Anya doesn’t like him back, he reminded himself that it’s okay to be single. His uncle is single and he seems perfectly happy. Plus, sometimes relationships just cause drama - Wesley’s mind drifted to his parents’ rocky relationship. His eyes welled up, but he quickly wiped his eyes. At least they are happier now, he hoped.

...

Wesley always liked to stay back for a moment after the last bell of the school day had rang. He never liked the way students funneled out of the classroom door, pushing and shoving one another to rush out into the even more crowded hallway. He reached his hand into his pocket and checked his phone. Usually Wesley’s screen was littered with notifications from the various mobile games that he played. Today, though, there was a bright and shiny FaceRange message notification from none other than Anya MacPherson. 

‘How’s your second day back at Degrassi?’ Anya sent an hour earlier. Wesley felt like he was the only teenager at Degrassi who didn’t check his phone during class. As he was reading the message, another popped up. ‘Enjoying being a panther again? :)’

Wesley quickly responded. ‘Not too bad, just finished for the day. And yes!’ He added a panther emoji. He of course went into overdrive for a moment thinking about the implications of Anya’s smiley face. Did it mean something? Anya was an overall friendly person — maybe it meant nothing. Wesley really wanted to know, if he was being honest.

The classroom was now empty, which prompted Wesley to finally get up and gather his school supplies and head out. He would have to continue messaging with Anya after he found his uncle and got a ride home from school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! New chapter every Thursday <3


	3. First Date (Again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wesley worked up the nerve to ask Anya out, unsure if she feels the same way. Read to find out! <3

Wesley finally got up the nerve to ask Anya if she wanted to meet up after a few weeks of online chatting. He didn’t use the term date when he asked out of fear of rejection, but the way his nerves were acting up as he got himself prepared for the meeting, it might as well have been an official date. 

They met at The Dot, which seemed to be pretty much the only place Degrassi kids wanted to go. Wesley arrived an hour early and ordered two iced coffee drinks that ended up being watery due to the ice melting before Anya got there. 

“I appreciate you buying me this.” Anya said, her voice as sweet as ever. “I don’t like my coffee too strong anyway. I’m kind of a wimp. I like sweet stuff.” 

If Wesley were someone different, someone more confident like Drew Torres or even Dave, he’d reply with ‘you’re sweet stuff’, but instead Wesley just imagined himself saying it in his head about three times til’ he got completely lost in his head and the moment had passed. 

Anya popped the thought bubble above his head. “Whatcha thinking about?” She asked. 

“A lot of things.” Wesley spoke honestly. “Most of all, why are you here? With me, I mean.” His words hung in the air for uncomfortably long. 

Anya stirred her coffee with her long pink and green nails gripping the straw tightly. “Because I like you, Wesley. You’re awesome.” 

Wesley reached down and pinched himself. “Not a dream. Wow.” He tried to think of another rational explanation for Anya MacPherson saying she liked him. 

Anya flashed her pearly white teeth. Wesley remembered the first time that he laid eyes on her. She still had braces and she had the prettiest metal mouth he’d ever seen. Most teens with braces were insecure and tried to hide their teeth until they were fully corrected. Not Anya. She smiled and joked and laughed out loud without a care in the world. Her sweet, goofy and confident yet approachable manner was one of Wesley’s favorite things about her. Sure, she was hot, but there was so much more to her than that. 

“You okay?” Anya waved her hand in front of Wesley’s face to capture his attention. “Did ya pop another boner pill? I was hoping our outing wouldn’t end in the ER this time.”

Wesley usually hated when people made fun of him, but Anya didn’t do it in an insulting or demeaning way, so he chuckled. “No, I mean — yes. Wait, no. Sorry. I got caught off guard when you said you…” He paused. Maybe he heard it wrong. No, he heard it right… “You like me?” 

“You were the sweetest guy I had ever met back when you were in grade 10. Two years have passed and all I’ve realized in my post-grad adventures is that sweet guys — truly sweet guys, are rare.” Anya explained. “Maybe I just pick the wrong guys, but in my experience, most guys are usually just trying to get something out of me. You’re not. At least… I don’t think you are.”

“I’m not,” Wesley quickly confirmed. “I swear, I’m really not.” He felt his palms start to get a bit sweaty. Go away, nervousness, he thought. This is not the time. 

Wesley repositioned himself in his chair, doing his best to puff out his chest and seem confident and cool, which was something he hadn’t quite mastered yet. 

Anya smiled at his nervous demeanor. “I didn’t mean to freak you out, I just thought…” 

“Is this a date?” Wesley blurted out. “I mean… yeah, that’s what I was going to ask, I was just hoping it’d come out a little smoother…”

Anya slowly stirred her watered down iced coffee as she seemed to deliberate for a moment. “Sort of? I really just wanted to see you after all these years. When we started messaging I couldn’t believe that we got back in contact. I always thought about you and how sweet you were… even when I was dating Owen. I found myself constantly comparing the people I was dating to you, even if I didn’t really realize it fully at the time. I’d go on a date with Owen or any of the other multitude of jerks I’ve given a chance and they were all so self absorbed or they wanted me to be someone else…” 

Wesley couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Anya was going out on dates with college dudes and comparing them to him? And he was winning? Maybe all those people who reassured Wesley that popularity and looks weren’t everything were onto something. Wesley knew he tried to treat Anya like a princess in his own misguided geeky awkward way, but he thought his attempts fell completely flat. Now Anya was telling him that wasn’t the case? 

“Even though our auction date was kind of a mess,” Anya continued. “You still made me feel really special in a weird way.”

“And you like weird?” Wesley asked, because that was what she was likely to get if she were serious about dating Wesley. He had definitely grown since grade ten in many ways, but he was still a geeky outcast at heart. After all, he didn’t even fit in with his own parents. Wesley really didn’t know much about feeling wanted or like he belonged. 

Anya took a sip of her coffee before she spoke again. “I am weird,” she stated simply. “I LARP, I have several sticker books, my best friend is my mom…” 

“None of that is so weird,” Wesley tried to reassure her, though his mind was wandering to just how cute he found each of Anya’s statements to be. She had mentioned that she did live action roleplay before, but all of Wesley’s blood wasn’t exactly rushing to his brain at that moment, so he never got to tell her just how cool he thought that was. “I think you’re the coolest girl I’ve ever met.” Even though Wesley was complimenting Anya instead of the other way around, he could still feel his cheeks filling with pink. She was so cool and cute, it was hard for Wesley to keep his cool. Especially considering she actually liked him back now. 

Anya’s cheeks were already slightly tinted pink from the makeup she was wearing, but Wesley could’ve sworn he saw her cheeks get blushy too. This had to be a beautiful dream. 

“Do you want, uh, ice cream?” Wesley offered, because he didn’t even know what else to say at this point. They were just sitting there together with pink cheeks and goofy smiles. 

“Ice cream and a walk?” Anya suggested. 

Wesley nodded. “Sounds perfect to me. Which flavor do you want?”  
“Mint chip,” Anya blushed, thinking about how Owen scoffed at her when she ate it because “it’s like eating toothpaste.”  
“That’s my favorite!” Wesley grinned. 

Wesley and Anya end up sharing the same ice cream, stealing glances at each other and giggling.  
On their walk, Anya’s phone buzzed. 

She stole a quick glance - it was an email from Ontario Veterinary College. Anya held her breath and clicked on it.

“Oh my gosh! I got into vet school! I can’t believe it!” Anya broke into the biggest smile.

“I knew you could do it, Anya!” Wesley’s heart sped up. He gently reached out his arm and she grabbed him into a tight hug.

“I always believed in you,” Wesley whispered into her ear.

Anya beamed, “Thank you Wesley. I missed you.” She put her arms on his shoulders, eyes flickering to his lips.

“I missed you too,” Wesley’s stomach flip flopped and his hands started shaking.  
He felt a jolt of bravery. “Anya? Can I kiss you?” 

“I thought you’d never ask,” Anya pulled him close and kissed him, on the lips this time. 

Wesley wrapped his arms around Anya’s waist, kissing her softly. She ran her hand through his curly hair.

He stopped kissing her for a moment and looked into her eyes, blushing. “I - I really like you.” 

“I really like you too, silly,” Anya kisses him on the cheek, just like she did two years ago. This time, it meant something different. It wasn’t a kiss out of pity or to cheer him up, it was something real.

They walked hand in hand, and neither of them could stop smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! <3 Happy new year everyone!


	4. Poking the Bear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wesley bumps into Owen, who is not happy about Wesley dating Anya. After his study date with Anya, Wesley tells her what happened, and she opens up about feeling uncomfortable that she dated Owen. 
> 
> TW: bullying, mention of the CPR sexual harassment scene between Owen & Anya, conversation on consent.

Wesley was more than a bit distracted walking down the hall with his phone in hand, texting Anya. He never used to understand who his peers were texting constantly throughout the day and why they felt the need. Even when he was with Hannah, they didn’t feel like they had to text one another every five seconds. With Anya, though… Wesley just couldn’t get enough. He loved hearing her every thought, especially when those thoughts regarded their next date. 

They had been going back and forth for a while trying to decide if they should do dinner and a movie or go to the aquarium. Wesley made a decision finally — ‘Let’s do the aquarium!’ 

He walked a bit further, still a bit caught up in his phone. Until suddenly Wesley walked into something that felt like a huge concrete wall. 

“Watch where you’re going, geek!” A familiar deep, menacing voice entered Wesley’s eardrums. Owen. 

Wesley looked up at Owen and a shiver of fear ran down his spine. He shook it off, deciding not to engage. “Sorry,” Wesley mumbled, beginning to collect the things he was holding that had now been spread across the whole hallway. What a mess, Wesley briefly thought. 

Before Wesley could grab his phone from the floor, Owen scooped it up. “What the hell is this?” He asked. 

“My phone?” Wesley responded sarcastically, “You have one of them too, I’m pretty sure…” He wanted to poke fun at Owen, but after the words left his mouth, he knew it wasn’t worth crossing the line. 

“Not the phone, I’m talking about this,” Owen held up Wesley’s cell phone and read the words on the screen. “This text, ‘OMG, yes! It’s a date!’ What loser girl did you rope into…” Owen paused, seeming to take in the entirety of what was displayed on the screen. “No freaking way.” He did not seem happy. 

Wesley was honestly getting a bit intimidated at this point. From the way Owen towered over him to the way he was gripping Wesley’s phone with so much anger… “You and Anya broke up forever ago…” Wesley dared to say, attempting to remind Owen that he and Anya were ancient history. He knew he was poking a bear at this point, but he wanted to stand up for his relationship with Anya. 

Owen paused for a moment before decidedly slamming Wesley’s phone onto the ground, shattering the corner of the screen. “You’re out of your mind talking to Anya. She would never sink down to the level of a loser like you.” 

Wesley, still shaken by Owen possibly destroying his property, attempted to quietly calm Owen down. People were beginning to stare and the last thing Wesley wanted was to get in trouble for fighting in the hallway. “I’m sorry, but you can’t control what Anya does or who she dates…” Wesley instantly brought his hands in front of his face to avoid the punch that he was expecting from Owen. 

Instead, Owen came closer and shoved Wesley against the lockers, his tone growing darker with each movement. “Don’t you dare contact her again or I’ll make sure your arms are broken for a third time.” Owen then grabbed Wesley’s arm and twisted it. 

Wesley yelped. In an attempt to break up the attempted assault, Wesley yanked himself away from Owen and pleaded, “Please stop, I won’t t-talk to her again!” 

Owen ignored him, grabbing his glasses and dangling them above his head. 

Wesley immediately panicked, disoriented by his now-blurry vision. “Please stop Owen, I can’t see-”

Before Wesley could plead to Owen further, another student of similar stature to Wesley rushed up and stepped in. Drew Torres to the rescue. “Leave him the hell alone, Owen!” Drew stormed in and grabbed Owen’s arm before punching him in the face, causing Wesley’s glasses to fly across the hallway. 

Wesley scrambled to pick his glasses up and put them back on his face. He had no idea what to do right now. Break it up? He kept a safe distance and let Drew handle things until a teacher came around. 

“Mind your business, Torres! You’re a fucking idiot,” Owen yelled at Drew before landing a punch directly to Drew’s gut.

A tall guy in a hockey jacket approached and pulled Drew out of the situation. “Take it easy, Torres. You have brain damage, remember?” 

Drew stepped away and the hockey player who was completely unfamiliar to Wesley took over, grabbing Owen by the shirt and raising an intimidating fist. “If you ever try to hurt my best friend, his brother, or any of his nerd friends again, you’ll have to go through me first.” He said, practically spitting the words into Owen’s face.

“Okay okay, jeez!” Owen finally slinked off, quickening his pace as he got further away.

“You better run!” The boy who Wesley still didn’t know the name of yelled. 

“And stay the hell away from Anya!” Drew called out as Owen was about to turn the corner. “She dumped you for a reason, bro!” 

Wesley quickly thanked Drew for helping him - again, thinking back to Drew helping him boost his confidence to impress Anya two years ago. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you there, thank you, seriously…” 

“No problem, my friend! You’re the one who helped me pass grade 11.” Drew gave Wesley a bro hug. They then turned to the other hockey guy, who looked cool as a cucumber. 

“Thanks for stepping in,” Drew grinned. “By the way… Dallas, this is the Wes-man. Wes, this is my billet bro, hockey superstar Mike Dallas!” 

Dallas tilted his chin up in the “what’s up?” motion. Wesley stuck his hand out to shake hands, immediately regretting the formal gesture. Dallas smirked but shook Wesley’s hand, and said in a friendly tone, “Nice to meet you, man!” 

Wesley shyly thanked both older boys once more. Once they walked away he pulled his phone out again. ‘Can’t wait for our date!’ he sent a text to Anya. He then smiled before adjusting his glasses and shoving his now slightly cracked phone back in his pocket. He was definitely still intimidated by Anya’s ex, but it was a good thing to know he had reinforcements and possible new friends by his side. 

...

After school, Wesley took the Subway to Anya’s apartment in downtown Toronto. Most of his friends drive by now, but Wesley still has one year left of the three year ban on driving his uncle gave him as punishment for taking his uncle’s car and driving Hannah around without a license. Even though Wesley is 18 now, and his uncle was probably exaggerating about having to wait that long, Wesley didn’t feel ready to drive again. The fear of screwing up and getting pulled over again, or worse, hurting someone, was too nerve-wracking.

Thankfully the Subway ran pretty often, and it was nice to be able to read a book or listen to his favorite dungeons and dragons podcast without having to worry about the rules of the road.

Once at Anya’s, they did work homework side by side while munching on ketchup chips and pretzels. Even though they occasionally distracted each other, it actually helped them focus to study next to each other.

After a couple hours of studying, they moved to the couch. They cuddled and discussed their itinerary for Saturday’s aquarium date. Anya was in the middle of talking about how excited she was to see the sea otters when she noticed a red mark on Wesley’s pale forearm.

Her eyebrows raised in concern, “What happened?” Anya gently rubbed his arm.

Wesley bit his lip, embarrassed, but nervous to bring up the culprit, unsure of what Anya would think. He   
didn’t want her to worry, but he thought she deserved to know.

Wesley avoided her gaze, stuttering, “Um, it was... it was Owen. He saw your text about our date... he was really jealous. I tried to defend you by saying he can’t control you or who you date, but that made him angrier. Drew and his friend Dallas helped me.”

Anya balled up her fist, “I’m so sorry Wesley. I thought he would have grown out of his bullying ways by now.” 

“But are you going to be okay? I don’t want him to bother you,” Wesley asked nervously, thinking of how possessive and controlling he seemed.

“I’m okay. Other than a few sad emails, he hasn’t tried to contact me. He shouldn’t have reacted like that, but honestly, he never changed. He was actually nice to me when we dated, but he’s done horrible things to people... I thought I could change him.”

She felt a pang of guilt remembering what Owen had done to her Riley, Zane, and Adam. “I should never have dated such a jerk.”

“It’s not your fault,” Wesley tried to console her.

TW: reference to past sexual harassment (Owen, Anya in season 10), discussion of consent

“Thank you Wesley. I was in a really vulnerable place when we first got together. He was there for me when I was alone, but I wish I had stuck to my words when I first told him to stay away from me.”

This time Wesley’s eyebrows furrowed in concern, “What do you mean, Anya?”

Anya shivered, “Well... when we were in CPR class together, he touched my arm and hair, and he said ‘I’d pay good money to be that dummy’ while I was giving CPR to the dummy.”

Wesley frowned, disgusted for Anya, but didn’t want to interrupt, so he kept his feelings of anger to himself. 

Anya continued, “I told him that he was making me uncomfortable, and he apologized and said he didn’t mean to make me feel that way. I forgave him but... I hate that he did that. I hate that guys will just touch girls without asking. Or anyone of any gender... I’m just... I’m always scared of something like that happening again,” Anya stopped, her breathing getting shaky.

“No one deserves that,” Wesley reassured her, and promised to ask before touching her.

Anya smiled, her breathing returning to normal, and made the same promise to him. They talked about what they felt comfortable with and made sure they understood each other.

That evening, they headed to Anya’s bed to start kissing. But first, Anya gently asked if she could take Wesley’s glasses off. Wesley felt safe knowing that she respects his consent, unlike when Owen ripped his glasses off without asking. 

Wesley asked Anya if he could kiss her. Anya nodded, feeling warm and safe. She kissed him and curled up on his chest. He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Also no shade to owenya shippers, they were cute together, but it irked me how he treated her before they dated so I wanted to address it. Thank you and let me know if you have any suggestions for future chapters :) <3


End file.
